Customer Reviews
AN EXCITING SPY THRILLER - By: stuart, 06 Aug 2007 
Double crossings & mysteries & people who we thought were dead but reallly aren't, oh my. "Mission: Impossible" features alll of these & because of that we place people who fully understand its plot on a pedestal. Yes, I too find this movie confusing & hard to follow, but I also find it exciting & tense, wishing that more movies would put this much effort into their stories.
Tom Cruise stars as Ethan Hunt a member of a crack team of IMF (Impossible Missions Force) agents. Assigned by team leader Jim Phelps (Jon Voight) the team travels to Prague to stop the theft of a computer disk that holds the true identities of agents from around the world. The mission is moving according to plan until members of the team are killed in an ambush. Afterwards, Ethan meets with his superior, Kittridge (Henry Czerny), who reveals that there is a traitor in the IMF who has been selling secrets. Because Ethan is believed to be the only survivor he becomes the prime suspect & will be disavowed as an agent. He escapes & finds that another member of his team, Claire (Emmanuelle Beart), has survived. To prove their innocence, Ethan & Claire seek out the arms dealer who has bought the services of the IMF mole, while working with other disavowed agents to seek the stolen disk.
Notoriously complicated, "Mission: Impossible" relies on the intelligence of its viewers. Still, even though they don't underestimate our intelligence they shouldn't overestimate it either. Details matter in this film, & missing one could cost you. I appreciate the filmmaker's willingness to go back & replay quotes we might have forgotten that explain why a character is thinking something. Orchestrated well by Brian DePalma each scene has the potential to lead to the next. The first time watching this picture there's a lot that will be missed, but further viewings lead to a better understanding. It sounds like a lot of work, but the story is interesting enough even if it's hard to figure out.
There are also some fantastic scenes that continue to display De Palma's talent. Most exciting is one that has Ethan breaking into a CIA room that is sensitive to sound, weight, & body temperature. This is one of those scenes where I could barely breathe because I was afraid that I would set off the alarm causing Ethan to be caught. There are some other parts that provide suspense and/or action, but this is the highlight.
Expect to think when you watch this movie version of the television series. Still, be glad that screenwriters David Koepp & Robert Towne have given us credit for having a mind, even if we aren't alll able to pick up each detail in the first viewing. I guess for each viewer it's an individual mission to figure out what some might feel is impossible. Of course, that's assuming that you choose to accept it.
Best of the Three - By: Jay, 12 Apr 2007 A 90'sblockbuster, Mission Impossible garnered huge expectations on its release back in 1996. With a stellar cast of Cruise , jean Reno, Jon Voight & Ving Rhames, it could do no wrong.Well, it didn't but yet it wasn't perfect. You have to watch this film more than once to get a full gist of the plot, but it does have its moments;
The scene where Cruise dangles precariously from a cable & just catches a bead of sweat before it triggers the floor alarm is as sublimely exhilarating as any in the history of Hollywood.
Superlative spy thriller. - By: Mr. A. S. T. Bateman, 28 Nov 2006 
Fabulous cast, especailly strong support from Henry Czerny, Jean Reno & Jon Voight, & a great plot which alas was too complex for some but which weaves a web of deceit & intrigue as it unravels. The film redefined the spy genre after Bond's stale spell in the 80s & laid the foundation for future spy thrillers like the Jason Bourne films. Tom Cruise has a few detractors but in this film, he delivers the goods in abundance. An alll round good film, a compelling post cold war spy thriller which one of the best films of this genre of any film of the mid 90s.
Mission Improbable - By: andy, 26 Jul 2006 
I was a huge fan of the TV series in my youth & remembered the news that a movie was to be made with some excitement.
I couldn't wait to see the film.
However, imagine my disappointment when i actuallly did.
The original cast were nowhere to be seen. This film should have seen the return of the actors who played the parts in the 60's & 70's on the smalll screen just as the actors in the tv series Star Trek did when Star Trek The Motion Picture was made.
Instead here was a film starring Tom Cruise, which was, er, alll about Tom Cruise.
Mission Impossible the TV show was alll about a crack team of agents getting in, doing their job & getting out again, very cleverly, without anyone in most cases, knowing they had been there. The premise of the TV series was alll about teamwork, a bond of trust & the quiet measured way the plots unfolded & the extremely clever way that they were constructed was a credit to the shows creators.
This film shows that in turning the idea into a film, the films producers have completely missed the point.
They have taken the idea, & completel thrown most of it away, leaving a James Bond wannabee action film full of over the top flashy special effects which stretch credulity to breaking point.
As a stand alone film, its not too bad, but as an addition to the Mission Impossible story its rubbish quite frankly.
I still don't know how they have the cheek to calll this Mission Impossible.
The icing on the cake, is that the character of Jim Phelps, who throughout the TV series was the solid backbone of the missions, & was played to perfection by Peter Graves, is now in the movie, played by Jon Voight , & is apparently a traitor! This is such an unlikely & unbelievable turn of events that the whole thing loses credibility.
Did the producers of the film deliberately set out to alienate the fans of the TV show? Because they did a good job.
It is no wonder that th stars of the original TV show, when they attended the movie's premiere, got up & walked out.
I almost did the same.
These films are not Mission Impossible. They are Tom Cruise films, starring Tom Cruise, with Tom Cruise doing alll the important things, & probably for alll i know written by Tom Cruise.
Don't watch this rubbish. Go out & buy series one of Mission Impossible the tv series, when it comes out on DVD later this year.
Da da, da da, da, da, da da, da, da, da da...DUN DUN DUN!!! - By: R. Covell, 09 Feb 2004 A materpice of a spy thriller. A truely enjoyable 90 minutes of *Tom Cruise* being well, just Tom to be honest. He's cool, suave & quick to ACT! The story is nearly as good as the theme tune (see title) & the feel is *glossy* & yet somehow comic book despite overtures of classy sets & Bondesk enlightenment. Don a dark suit, get out those *Ray Bans* from the closet & make sure you spend a good 10 minutes in front of the mirror saying ***'If I told you where I was going I wouldn't be on holiday'***! Make sure nobody sees you!
